Is a paid version required to configure ssh?

[tim]

As the subject asks….

I’ve tried multiple times to set up SSH authentication but always get that authentication fails. I can use the key pair I created to connect via Terminal no problem.

[Britgirl]

Is a paid version required to configure ssh?

Yes, on the server host you are connecting to. It does not matter which client is running on the device you are connecting from. The free NoMachine edition does not support connections by SSH. SSH is supported in any of the products of the Enterprise suite. Try Enterprise Desktop for example, which is like the Free Edition, but offers not just SSH support but also sessions from a Web browser, remote admin and more. Or, if you are connecting to Linux and are interested in running multiple Linux desktops on the same host, try one of the products from the Terminal Server family. They are all freely available to download and try as evaluation software.

What you might like to try is tunneling the NX protocol in a SSH connection. Pre-requisite is to have a SSH client on your client machine and a SSH server on your server machine. See the following article for more details.

https://kb.nomachine.com/AR10K00728

[tim]

Thank you @Britgirl.

This is not what I experienced:

If you try to connect using an SSH connection to a server where the Free Edition is installed, you will get the following message:

SSH connections are not supported on this server.

Instead, I just simply got a message stating authentication failed.

Tim

[Britgirl]

Hmm, strange.

Please tell us:

– NoMachine product and version on the client device you are connecting from.
– OS version on that device/computer.
– NoMachine free edition version on the computer you are connecting to.
– OS version on that computer. If it’s Linux please clarify the distribution and version.
– the exact steps you are taking to connect using a NoMachine SSH session.

Thanks.

[tim]

Latest from Linux to macOS.

Client: NoMachine 8.14.2 on Linux via FlatPak

Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS

Server: NoMachine 8.14.2 on macOS Sequoia 15.2

I set up a special ssh key pair (tried both ED25519 and RSA) for this connection (also tried with and without a passphrase) and verified that I could connect in a terminal without being prompted for a password.

In NoMachine on the client, I right-clicked on discovered server and selected Edit Connection. Then, Configuration->Use key-based authentication, and Modify. I used the three dots to select the private key of the pair I created. I also tried both import and non-import.

I hope that helps, fwiw.

 

[Britgirl]

In the ‘Edit connection’ panel are you changing the protocol to SSH?

[tim]

The full verbiage of the line on my screen, under Authentication, is: “Use key-based authentication with a key you provide”.

Yes, I change the Authentication method from “Use password authentication” to that, then click Modify.

[Britgirl]

Can you submit a screenshot of the Edit connection panel, Address section?  Or tell us the details that are configured therein, we’d like to know what protocol is set in that panel.

[tim]

NX Port 4000. Host IP is private network address assigned dynamically. The name is the name of the machine, macOS 15.2.

[Britgirl]

Hi, thanks for confirming that, we had to make sure that it was indeed NX and not SSH in the Edit connection panel. Connecting over NX with key-based authentication to a Free Edition server is supported.

There are some instructions here:

How to set up key based authentication with NX protocol
https://kb.nomachine.com/AR02L00785

[tim]

That worked! Thank you.

I still had to try several times, and in the end I had to toggle off the import of private key. I had left it checked between tests (even though I selected the private key each time) and kept getting a message that authentication failed. I suspect the private key selection process wasn’t overwriting what had been previously imported?

[Britgirl]

Hi, it sounds very similar to this bug report.

Cannot login by NX protocol and private key when option ‘Import the private key to the connection file’ is checked
https://kb.nomachine.com/TR05S10271

As a temporary workaround, do not check option ‘Import the private key to the connection file’ in the UI.

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